Body of fourth missing US soldier found in Lithuania

The body of a fourth US soldier has been found, a week after going missing in Lithuania.

The soldier was part of a team of four who were conducting military drills in a large armoured vehicle when they disappeared near the city of Pabrade.

The vehicle – a M88A2 Hercules – and the bodies of the other three soldiers were found in a peat bog on Monday.

The search effort, followed by the difficult mission to drag the vehicle out of the bog, has involved hundreds of rescue workers from the US Army and Navy, as well as Lithuanian, Polish and Estonian Armed Forces, a statement said.

"This past week has been devastating. Today our hearts bear the weight of an unbearable pain... the world is darker without them," said Maj Gen Christopher Norrie in a statement released by US Army Europe and Africa.

Lt Gen Charles Costanza described the incident as a "tragic accident" and added that it was "humbling to watch the incredible recovery team from different commands, countries and continents come together".

The US Army is investigating what happened.

The statement did not specify where the final soldier's body was found. The team had been working near the border with Belarus.

The M88A2 Hercules, one of the largest military vehicles used by the US Armed Forces, is designed to recover damaged tanks and other vehicles from battlefields.

Two more M88A2 Hercules, plus bulldozers were needed to drag the sunken vehicle out of the swamp on Monday, in a recovery mission that saw teams working "day and night", the statement said.

The soldiers' identities have been withheld. They had been deployed to Lithuania as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve – a response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.